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Performing-arts groups continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic even as they respond to longer-term attendance trends.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which opens its new season this week, is adapting in its own way — and performances at Heinz Hall might feel a little different because of it.
Symphonies everywhere have long fretted about the lack of younger people at their concerts. And ticket sales — especially subscriptions — continue to lag nationally behind pre-pandemic numbers. So, over the past several months, the PSO launched or resumed what CEO and president Melia Tourangeau calls three “experimental” series.
This past spring, it rolled out “PSO Disrupt,” which strove to reinvent the classical music concert experience as more welcoming. The shows were at Heinz Hall, but the programs were shorter, casual dress was encouraged (even for the musicians) and there was a festival atmosphere, with the grand lobby activated with artmaking, and instruments available for people to touch.
Moreover, the two programs — featuring Shostakovich’s symphony No. 10 and Stravinsky’s famed “Rite of Spring” — included musicians speaking about the work from the stage, providing historical background about the work or even reminiscing about what playing a particular piece for the first time meant to them.
“People need context for what they’re about to listen to,” said Tourangeau. That’s something symphony orchestras haven’t traditionally provided. The event’s emcee, associate conductor Jacob Joyce, even stayed onstage during the performance to answer any questions patrons might text him.
Themed mixed drinks probably didn’t hurt, either — nor added theatrical elements, like Attack Theatre dancers leaping onstage during “Rite of Spring.”
Attendance for each show was about 1,200, Tourangeau said.
Perhaps most significantly, she added, her 18-year-old daughter noted, “Wow, Mom, noticeably younger audience here.”
A second new series was called Summer Shorts. In July, with work being done on Heinz Hall, the PSO moved over to the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s O’Reilly Theater for this series of three programs running 90 minutes each (an hour or so shorter than a typical classical evening). The shows sold out the 600-seat theater, Tourangeau said.
The third series, screenings of popular films with the scores performed live, resumed after a pandemic hiatus with “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “The Little Mermaid.” Those also sold well, she said.
In all, Tourangeau said, the PSO is recovering pretty well from the pandemic drop-off. Last season, total attendance at Heinz Hall — including not just PSO performances but also touring acts and productions — was down just 5% from 2019 levels. And patronage seemed to pick up as time went on: The season closed with 20 straight concerts at 80% or more of the hall’s 2,676 seats occupied, she said. Today, both subscriptions and single-ticket sales are ahead of last year’s pace.
The PSO kicks off its season Fri., Sept. 29, and Sun., Oct. 1. The program includes a Pittsburgh premiere by contemporary composer Gabriela Ortiz, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, and Schumann’s Piano Concerto, interpreted by guest soloist Hélène Grimaud.
How will all this affect future concerts?
Most obviously, the movie screenings are now a major part of the PSO season. Five Movies with the PSO events are scheduled October through March, including “Superman,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “The Princess Bride.”
PSO Disrupt will also return, with concerts in October, February and May. Summer Shorts might be reprised, as well.
Beyond that, Tourangeau said the PSO’s flagship BNY Mellon series will incorporate popular elements from Disrupt, including more talking from the stage, more theatricality, and more lobby activities.
Tourangeau said colleagues in other cities are employing similar strategies. “You have to make every concert an event if you want people to come,” she said.
That also, inevitably, means more marketing costs for the PSO — another way it’s gotten more expensive to run a symphony in an era when patrons are less likely to subscribe and more likely to buy tickets last-minute. That’s one reason the PSO just raised ticket prices for the first time in seven years.
But the point is getting people in the door.
Speaking for her colleagues around the country, Tourangeau said, “I think we’re all trying to create powerful experiences that are modernizing the concert experience for today’s audiences.”
